This Is 40 is a really bad, lazy, repetitious, unfocused, poorlyconceived film. One of the few things making it worth watching is GrahamParker’s presence. Well, I have some very good news. Shout! Factory hasreleased all of the concert footage shot for the film on a DVD titled This Is Live. So now you can skip thefilm altogether, and just enjoy the music. I’m glad This Is 40 was made, because it made this new DVDpossible. Now toss away your copy of ThisIs 40, and enjoy This Is Live.

This footage was shot asBelasco Theater in Los Angeles. It is weird, because in a few of the wideshots, people cross in front of the camera, but those are extras, not realconcert-goers (at least as far as I know). So there is an odd aspect to thisperformance, because it was staged for a movie. According to the DVD credits,there were four cameras used for this scene. I do wonder if the songs wererepeated several times, to get additional shots (like from behind the band),and how the performances were edited together (because of course we never seeany of the other cameras in any one camera’s shot).

But what is importanthere is the music. And the music is so damn good. This band still totally hasthat special something, and these songs are fun and vibrant. The band doestwelve songs, beginning with “Fool’s Gold.” Graham Parker plays acoustic guitaron several of the tracks, including “Local Girls.”

There is some newmaterial, from the band’s 2012’s release ThreeChords Good, including the title track and “StopCryin’ About The Rain.” “Long Emotional Ride” is a nice new tune with a sweetvibe. Graham Parker sings, “I never tookone word of advice/Never in my whole life.” But then: “I dreamed I saw a movie of my life/I thought I dreamed it, but it wasreal/I realized I’d been surrounded by friends all of the time.” Nice, eh?And appropriate, considering this was shot for a movie. This is one of myfavorites. And speaking of references tothe movies, in “Passion Is No Ordinary Word,” Graham sings, “The movie might be new, but it’s the samesoundtrack.”

“She Rocks Me” is anotherhighlight, a fun tune. And yes, that is a kazoo in Graham’s harmonica holder.This performance also includes a very cool rendition of “Stupefaction,” one ofmy favorites from this band. “I can’t seethe point, but I see the attraction.” What a great song. Bythe way, you can see a much earlier performance of this song on The Best Of Fridays, which was releasedby Shout! Factory on August 6th.

The band ends the setwith “Soul Shoes” from the 1976 album Howlin' Wind. (“Sirens In The Night” playsduring the closing credits.) The DVD is approximately fifty-five minutes, andcontains no special features.

This Is Live was released on August 27, 2013 through Shout! Factory.

Note: I also posted thisreview on Michael Doherty's Music Log.

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This Is 40 is a really bad, lazy, repetitious, unfocused, poorly
conceived film. One of the few things making it worth watching is Graham
Parker’s presence. Well, I have some very good news. Shout! Factory has
released all of the concert footage shot for the film on a DVD titled This Is Live. So now you can skip the
film altogether, and just enjoy the music. I’m glad This Is 40 was made, because it made this new DVD
possible. Now toss away your copy of This
Is 40, and enjoy This Is Live.
This footage was shot as
Belasco Theater in Los Angeles. It is weird, because in a few of the wide
shots, people cross in front of the camera, but those are extras, not real
concert-goers (at least as far as I know). So there is an odd aspect to this
performance, because it was staged for a movie. According to the DVD credits,
there were four cameras used for this scene. I do wonder if the songs were
repeated several times, to get additional shots (like from behind the band),
and how the performances were edited together (because of course we never see
any of the other cameras in any one camera’s shot).
But what is important
here is the music. And the music is so damn good. This band still totally has
that special something, and these songs are fun and vibrant. The band does
twelve songs, beginning with “Fool’s Gold.” Graham Parker plays acoustic guitar
on several of the tracks, including “Local Girls.”
There is some new
material, from the band’s 2012’s release Three
Chords Good, including the title track and “Stop
Cryin’ About The Rain.” “Long Emotional Ride” is a nice new tune with a sweet
vibe. Graham Parker sings, “I never took
one word of advice/Never in my whole life.” But then: “I dreamed I saw a movie of my life/I thought I dreamed it, but it was
real/I realized I’d been surrounded by friends all of the time.” Nice, eh?
And appropriate, considering this was shot for a movie. This is one of my
favorites. And speaking of references to
the movies, in “Passion Is No Ordinary Word,” Graham sings, “The movie might be new, but it’s the same
soundtrack.”
“She Rocks Me” is another
highlight, a fun tune. And yes, that is a kazoo in Graham’s harmonica holder.
This performance also includes a very cool rendition of “Stupefaction,” one of
my favorites from this band. “I can’t see
the point, but I see the attraction.” What a great song. By
the way, you can see a much earlier performance of this song on The Best Of Fridays, which was released
by Shout! Factory on August 6th.
The band ends the set
with “Soul Shoes” from the 1976 album Howlin' Wind. (“Sirens In The Night” plays
during the closing credits.) The DVD is approximately fifty-five minutes, and
contains no special features.
This Is Live was released on August 27, 2013 through Shout! Factory.
Note: I also posted this
review on Michael Doherty's Music Log.